Work Group Concludes EMFs Are Possible Human Carcinogen
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1998)

a work group convened by NIEHS Director Kenneth Olden .1F-Lhasreached consensus regarding the strength of the scientific evidence of biological health effects due to expo- sure to 60-Hertz electric and magnetic fields (EMFs), stating that EMFs such as those surrounding electric power lines should be regarded as possible human carcinogens.This ruling was a compromise reached after a split vote of 19-9, with one-third of the panelists convinced that, based on review of the literature, EMFs cannot conclusively be labeled a carcinogen or, at least, carcinogenic to humans.The group met 16-24 June 1998 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in what served as the climax to a series of sym- posia devoted to studying the published literature in the field of EMF research.The panel of 30 scientists included EMF researchers as well as investigators from other fields, such as pharmacology, biochemistry, toxicology, and pathology.Christopher J. Portier, director of the hazard evaluation project for the NIEHS Electric and Magnetic Fields Research and Public Information Dissemination Program and coordinator of the science review work group, says it is important to realize that this was a hazard identification process, not a risk assessment.Portier explains, "This meeting evaluated the literature and identified hazards for each endpoint [examined]."The endpoints studied included such diverse health effects as cancer and depression.Some of the evidence pointing toward carcinogenicity of EMFs includes epidemiological studies that indicate a slight increase in childhood leukemia rates among youngsters living near power lines and an increase in chronic leukemia among adults such as electric power providers and telephone line workers, who work in electricity-intensive industries.However, in a press release issued by the NIEHS, panel chairman Michael Gallo, director of the NIEHS Center of Excellence at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute in Piscataway, New Jersey, said, "[The risk] is probably quite small, compared to many other public health risks.However, I strongly believe that additional hypothesis-driven, focused research should be pursued to reduce uncertainties in this arena."Several other human health effects, such as Alzheimer's disease, depression, birth defects, and spontaneous abortion, previously had been suspected of being attributable to EMF exposures, but the panel found no clear link between EMF exposures and such effects.This meeting, along with the earlier symposia, is part of a process undertaken by the NIEHS to provide institute director Kenneth Olden with the data necessary to report to Congress later this year on whether EMF exposures are hazardous to human health.The first three symposia lasted 3-4 days each and focused on deciding whether the scien- tific evidence supports a causal relationship between EMF exposures and human health effects based on evaluation of the published EMF research in a specific realm of study methods.The first symposium, held in March 1997 in Durham, North Carolina, covered theoretical mechanisms and in vitro research findings.The second symposium, held in January 1998 in San Antonio, Texas, covered epidemiological research results.The third symposium, held in April 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona, covered clinical and in vivo laboratory findings.Panel participants sifted through all the published literature in the field of EMF research, examining each study for scientific quality and reproducibility.